Liverpool's Urban GreenUp project wins hat-trick of awards

Liverpool has scored a unique treble at a major international climate change awards ceremony.

Liverpool City Council’s Urban GreenUP project, which was recently shortlisted for a world Green City Award, won big at the CIRIA 2024 Big Biodiversity Awards.

Held in London, the city’s innovative nature-based solution programme secured awards in the following categories:

CIRIA Innovation Award
CIRIA Habitat Creation Project of the Year Award
CIRIA Biodiversity Overall Winner

The EU-funded programme, which has introduced urban raingardens, green walls and pollinators posts around the city centre as well as a number of floating islands in the city’s docks and parks, was also Highly Commended in the ‘Living Green for Climate Change’ category at the World Green City Awards 2024 held in Utrecht.

The accolades follow hot on the heels of the programme scooping a golden pineapple trophy for its Climate Resilience submission at the 2024 Festival of Place.

Liverpool has also recently become the world’s first ‘Accelerator City’ for climate action, under UN Climate Change’s Entertainment and Culture for Climate Action (ECCA) programme.

The title comes in recognition of Liverpool’s impressive commitment to innovation and smart regulation to rapidly decarbonise the live music and TV/Film production sectors – both vital parts of the city’s economy – following several years of developmental work by ACT 1.5, an artist-led research and action effort, and climate scientists from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.

Liverpool’s Urban GreenUP programme involves a collaboration between the Council, the Mersey Forest and the University of Liverpool. It has set a number of goals to mitigate climate change impact on the city, such as enhancing air quality, reducing flooding risks, improving water management, and increasing urban sustainability.